Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code is the third installment in the eight-book Artemis Fowl series, a young adult science fiction/fantasy series written by Eoin ("Owen") Colfer from 2001-2012. The series centers around the complex character of Artemis Fowl, a young genius/criminal mastermind who engages in activities of dubious legality in order to make money and acquire power. In the first two books of the series, Artemis takes the role of an antihero: a protagonist who doesn't fit the traditional "hero" mold and might even sometimes be considered a villain. The Eternity Code, however, marks the beginning of Artemis's transition from antihero to hero. In this novel, he puts aside his egotism to work with the fairy police to stop Jon Spiro from using his C Cube to wreak havoc on the world. The novel shows him grow in his relationships with Butler, Holly, and Mulch, even entrusting Mulch with a medallion that holds all of his memories. This character development is critical to the novel and to the series as a whole.
The Eternity Code is a story that falls into the Frankenstein category: a struggle to deal with the unintended effects of something the main character creates. At the beginning of the novel, Artemis has created a supercomputer from fairy components left over from the battle of the previous novel. Like Dr. Frankenstein, however, he is dealing with forces he can't control: when he activates the machine, he accidentally causes a blip in the fairies' tech radar, which causes the shutdown of all fairy technology, which renders the computer temporarily incapacitated, which allows Spiro to steal it. This wildly powerful technology is now in the hands of a cruel man, and Artemis must put aside his characteristic egotism in order to stop this madman from using his own creation to grow incredibly powerful.
Unlike Frankenstein, the technology Artemis creates does not rebel on its own; rather, it falls into the hands of a man who will use it with no inhibitions or sense of morality. This type of self-made pickle is clearly the fault of the creator, Artemis, who was imprudent with his use of the technology. Regardless, this mistake causes a large-scale catastrophe, forcing Artemis to team up with the fairy police and trick Spiro into getting arrested, freeing themselves up to retrieve the Cube.
The Eternity Code is also one of the earliest young adult novels to incorporate a secret code into the cover, spine, and internal content of the book itself. Intended to be a fun exercise for clever readers, the code has changed since the initial release date, but it still contains a hidden message from Artemis to the reader, asking for help in regaining his memories. This unusual breaking of the fourth wall allows the reader to become more engaged with the story, as if Artemis's world exists in the real one. It's a smart technique on the part of Colfer, and one that certainly appeals to a specific group of teenagers: fortuitously, the ones who would be reading this book anyway.
